Indian Space Programme Discussion

[Rahul M]

anyone has a list of currently active ISRO EO sats and proposed future launches ?

TIA.

[sanjaykumar]

Metrology?

[ramana]

Metrology?

The discipline of measurement. Note it is used in manufacturing industry.

[ramana]

When the term "strategic applications" is used, does it mean that the satellite( GSAT-6) will only be used by the government and military/DRDO etc, or that some of the capacity will be strategic and some civilian i.e telecom, I&B.

it will be used by GOI only. Note earlier Devas scam was to use the transponders in S-Band reserved for GOI use to sell for private use.

Though the space agency was to launch the satellite earlier for the city-based Devas Multimedia Services Ltd under a pact with its commercial arm Antrix Corporation, the government cancelled the $300 million deal in February 2011 invoking sovereignty and decided to use it for strategic needs.

Under the annulled deal, Antrix was to lease transponders of GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A to Devas for allowing it to offer digital multimedia services using S-band wavelength (spectrum), reserved for strategic use of the country.

MMS didn't know when the papers were signed. After hue and cry it was revoked in 2011.
Gory details in the 2G scam thread.....

[raj-senthil]

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Continuation Programme of fifteen operational flights of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50.

The PSLV continuation Programme will enable the launch of satellites required for Earth Observation, Navigation and Space Sciences along with the possibility of clinching commercial launch service contracts.

The total fund requirement is Rs. 3090 crore and includes the cost of fifteen PSLV vehicles, Programme Elements, Programme Management and Launch Campaign.

The PSLV Continuation Programme will meet the demand for the launch of satellites at a frequency of four to five launches per year, with a greater focus on enhancing the level of participation by the Indian industry. All the fifteen operational flights would be completed during the period 2017-2020.

Presently, PSLV operational flights, which were sanctioned in 2008, are being utilized to meet the satellite launch requirements.

The operationalisation of PSLV has made the country self-reliant in the launching capability of satellites for earth observation, disaster management, navigation and space sciences. The PSLV Continuation programme will sustain this capability and self-reliance in the launching of similar satellites for national requirements.

[bharats]

India refuses to participate in Russian Moon research project
By: May 21, 2015 TASS
Link: http://in.rbth.com/economics/2015/05/21 ... 43249.html

India was not satisfied with the constant postponement of the Russian lunar missions and a high accident rate. India has lost interest in the Russian project for the soil sample taking at the south pole of the Moon with the use of the Luna-27 station, the Space Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) reported on Thursday.
"Taking into account the RAS Space Research Institute information about the Indian specialists loss of interest in the Luna-27 project, Roscosmos [Russia’s Federal Space Agency] is advised to agree with the Indian side on the issue of exclusion of the Indian ‘mini rover’ from the payload of Luna-Resurs-1 project [new project name - Luna-27]," says the Council’s decision.

Head of the space gamma-ray spectroscopy laboratory of the RAS Space Research Institute Igor Mitrofanov told TASS that the "RAS Space Council has turned to the Federal Space Agency with this proposal. Roscosmos is currently considering it." A space industry source told TASS that the refusal from cooperation was mutual. India, he said, was not satisfied with the constant postponement of the Russian lunar missions and a high accident rate. Russia was not satisfied with the initial agreement on the launch of Luna-27 on an Indian rocket, the high costs of the spacecraft delivery and testing in India, as well as the need to include the "mini rover" in the mission, which made the project more risky. "As a result, the parties have preliminarily agreed to exchange data on the national lunar programmes and coordinate efforts in the Moon study and went, as they say, their separate ways," the source said.

India is currently planning to drop its own lander on the Moon’s south pole in 2016-2017, thus becoming the first country to implement such a project. The launch of the Russian Luna-27 probe, according to the draft of the Federal Space Programme for 2016-2025, is scheduled for 2022.

[sum]

^^ It is fault of Indians onlee. Poor Russia did so much for us but non-so-good at engineering Indians are the root cause of this delay.

/sarc off

[jayasimha]

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Cabinet
21-May-2015 18:50 IST


Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle continuation Programme Operational Flights PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50


The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Continuation Programme of fifteen operational flights of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50.

The PSLV continuation Programme will enable the launch of satellites required for Earth Observation, Navigation and Space Sciences along with the possibility of clinching commercial launch service contracts.

The total fund requirement is Rs. 3090 crore and includes the cost of fifteen PSLV vehicles, Programme Elements, Programme Management and Launch Campaign.

The PSLV Continuation Programme will meet the demand for the launch of satellites at a frequency of four to five launches per year, with a greater focus on enhancing the level of participation by the Indian industry. All the fifteen operational flights would be completed during the period 2017-2020.

Presently, PSLV operational flights, which were sanctioned in 2008, are being utilized to meet the satellite launch requirements.

The operationalisation of PSLV has made the country self-reliant in the launching capability of satellites for earth observation, disaster management, navigation and space sciences. The PSLV Continuation programme will sustain this capability and self-reliance in the launching of similar satellites for national requirements.

Background:

PSLV has emerged as a versatile launch vehicle to carry out Sun-Synchronous Polor Orbit (SSPO), Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and low inclination Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions. With the recent successful launch of PSLV-C26 on 16th October 2014, PSLV has completed three developmental and twenty-five operational flights and the last twenty-seven flights have been successively successful. PSLV has established itself as a workhorse vehicle for national satellites with a production capacity that would enable responding fast to commercial launch opportunities also.


***


AKT/SH

[SSridhar]

India’s eye on universe ready for tests - Madhumitha D.S. - The Hindu

A fully assembled Astrosat, India’s first space observatory, is ready for intensive tests here [Bengaluru] before its launch around October.

The Indian Space Research Organisation said on Tuesday that the 1,650-kg spacecraft would orbit Earth equatorially at 650 km and study distant stars, galaxies, black holes and other cosmic objects.

Elite status

The space-based observatory was built at the ISRO Satellite Centre here to operate for five years and will provide useful data for the country’s astronomy community. It will put India in an elite orbit with the U.S., Europe, Russia and Japan.

“Last week, the spacecraft was fully assembled and switched on. All the [six] payloads and sub-systems are integrated into the satellite. Mechanical fit checks of the satellite with the PSLV [polar satellite launch vehicle] payload adaptor were performed successfully,” the space agency said on its website.

One of ISRO directors said Astrosat would be the first such satellite to scan simultaneously the sky in most of the frequency spectra from ultraviolet to optical and low- and high-energy X-ray bands.

Large scale

Although previous national satellites carried small astronomy-related devices, “Nothing on this scale, with a dedicated satellite, has been done before [at ISRO]. It should be of immense benefit to our scientists, who have depended on inputs from other agencies and sources like the Hubble [US-European space telescope],” the official said.

In the coming days, Astrosat will undergo a host of environmental tests — electromagnetic interference, electromagnetic compatibility, thermal vacuum, vibration and acoustics and so on.

Later, the satellite will be shipped to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, for launch.

ISRO developed the six payloads in partnership with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai; the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru; and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune.

Two payloads were developed with the Canadian Space Agency and the University of Leicester, U.K.

[Hitesh]

How does AstroSat compare to Hubble Telescope or the upcoming James Webb Telescope which is supposed to be far more powerful than the Hubble?

[SSridhar]

India closer to developing its own space shuttle - Srinivas Laxman, ToI

[/quoIndia is on the cusp of developing its own reusable space launch vehicle, popularly known as a space shuttle. Isro's 1.5 tonne vehicle resembling an aircraft is provisionally slated to make its maiden flight towards the end of July or August from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Officially known as the reusable launch vehicle (RLV-TD), it is undergoing final preparations at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. Its primary role will be to reduce the cost of access to space. The cost of placing 1kg of object in space is about $5,000, which scientists are hoping will come down to about $500 with the RLV.

As of now, there are no plans to use it for a manned mission. Speaking to TOI, those connected with the nearly Rs 100-crore project said that the spacecraft will initially be carried by a single solid rocket booster with nine tonnes of propellants.

After lift off, it will zoom to an altitude of 70km and then execute a soft landing in the Bay of Bengal. The duration of this sub-orbital mission is expected to be around 900 seconds.

The most anticipated moment will be when the vehicle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere at five times the speed of sound. An Isro engineer told TOI: "To prevent the vehicle from getting damaged (due to heat), its nose has been protected by carbon-carbon and there are about 600 heat-resistant tiles placed around the vehicle. These tiles will be able to withstand a temperature to about 1,200 degrees Celsius."

The space-qualified tiles have been procured from Tamil Nadu.

Interestingly, after it splashes down, the vehicle will sink to the bottom of the sea and for now there are no plans to recover it.

"We have simulated different scenarios and we know what can happen. But, we have kept other options open. If there is a change of thinking at the last moment, we may seek the help of the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard to recover it," the engineer said.

Isro ultimately plans to develop technology to land the shuttle on a runway.

The mission, which will attract global interest, will evaluate technologies such as hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion.

These technologies will be developed in phases through a series of experimental flights. The first in the series is the hypersonic flight experiment followed by the landing experiment, return flight experiment and scramjet propulsion experiment.

[kit]

India closer to developing its own space shuttle - Srinivas Laxman, ToI

[/quoIndia is on the cusp of developing its own reusable space launch vehicle, popularly known as a space shuttle. Isro's 1.5 tonne vehicle resembling an aircraft is provisionally slated to make its maiden flight towards the end of July or August from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Officially known as the reusable launch vehicle (RLV-TD), it is undergoing final preparations at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. Its primary role will be to reduce the cost of access to space. The cost of placing 1kg of object in space is about $5,000, which scientists are hoping will come down to about $500 with the RLV.

As of now, there are no plans to use it for a manned mission. Speaking to TOI, those connected with the nearly Rs 100-crore project said that the spacecraft will initially be carried by a single solid rocket booster with nine tonnes of propellants.

After lift off, it will zoom to an altitude of 70km and then execute a soft landing in the Bay of Bengal. The duration of this sub-orbital mission is expected to be around 900 seconds.

The most anticipated moment will be when the vehicle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere at five times the speed of sound. An Isro engineer told TOI: "To prevent the vehicle from getting damaged (due to heat), its nose has been protected by carbon-carbon and there are about 600 heat-resistant tiles placed around the vehicle. These tiles will be able to withstand a temperature to about 1,200 degrees Celsius."

The space-qualified tiles have been procured from Tamil Nadu.

Interestingly, after it splashes down, the vehicle will sink to the bottom of the sea and for now there are no plans to recover it.

"We have simulated different scenarios and we know what can happen. But, we have kept other options open. If there is a change of thinking at the last moment, we may seek the help of the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard to recover it," the engineer said.

Isro ultimately plans to develop technology to land the shuttle on a runway.

The mission, which will attract global interest, will evaluate technologies such as hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion.

These technologies will be developed in phases through a series of experimental flights. The first in the series is the hypersonic flight experiment followed by the landing experiment, return flight experiment and scramjet propulsion experiment.

looks more like an unmanned shuttle like buran on a smaller scale

[member_28108]

it is an unmanned trial version of a potential space shuttle or more importantly like the X 37B. It is a apart of a 4 part testing program.

[arshyam]

India closer to developing its own space shuttle - Srinivas Laxman, ToI

Interestingly, after it splashes down, the vehicle will sink to the bottom of the sea and for now there are no plans to recover it.

I hope this is just DDM at work. If we don't recover the vehicle, how will evaluate the performance of the tiles during re-entry, among other things? Things like internal temperature (is it fit for human presence) and other monitoring can be done through radio telemetry, but won't ISRO want to evaluate the interiors after re-entry? Also, do radio signals work during re-entry?

[member_28108]

I hope this is just DDM at work. If we don't recover the vehicle, how will evaluate the performance of the tiles during re-entry, among other things? Things like internal temperature (is it fit for human presence) and other monitoring can be done through radio telemetry, but won't ISRO want to evaluate the interiors after re-entry? Also, do radio signals work during re-entry?

The tiles have already been evaluated in the GSLV Mark 3 experiment. This experiment is to study atmospheric reentry characteristics. the next one will concentrate on landing (LEX). The plan is to recover HEX

[srin]

The promise of the Space Shuttle was that re-use would make it really cheap to take astronauts / payloads to LEO. However, it never lived up to its promise - it was way more expensive than the Russian Soyuz.

I read long ago (but can't find the link) that it was due to a compromised design (military put in their own requirements) and cost of re-qualifying the SRBs and other components for the next flight.

I think there is a lesson worth learning somewhere there.

[shyamoo]

The promise of the Space Shuttle was that re-use would make it really cheap to take astronauts / payloads to LEO. However, it never lived up to its promise - it was way more expensive than the Russian Soyuz.

I read long ago (but can't find the link) that it was due to a compromised design (military put in their own requirements) and cost of re-qualifying the SRBs and other components for the next flight.

I think there is a lesson worth learning somewhere there.

The late Mr.Feynmann was one of the members of the team that was created to look into the Challenger disaster. His scathing report puts the shuttle program and the people running NASA ( at that time ) to shame. You can find some excerpts of the same in the book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!". A must read book for anyone.

[sanjaykumar]

It is very easy to be scathing post facto. Too bad he kept his mouth shut earlier when he could have saved lives and billions of dollars.

[TSJones]

the shuttle was far more capable than the soyuz. However, after every launch the shuttle and its engines had to be completely reworked. It required a huge workforce. this was due the political spoils system that produced it from the various NASA space centers that supported it.

the shuttle had two deadly flaws.

1. There was no launch escape system. Once lift off commenced the astronauts were committed, dead or alive. No way out but success.

2. The shuttle rode on the side of the rocket stack instead of the top of the stack thus exposing the shuttle to debris strikes and shuttle booster failures.

Having said that, the shuttle was a magnificent machine, certainly the most complicated and capable ever launched.

I am more than willing to bet that India will not make the same two mistakes that I listed above.

All systems currently under design and development in the US are not making these same mistakes again, not even Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser.

it also appears that ESA is interested in building a space plane. I don't how serious they are....

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launc ... rch_flight

[shyamoo]

It is very easy to be scathing post facto. Too bad he kept his mouth shut earlier when he could have saved lives and billions of dollars.

He wasn't a part of the program. He was part of the team investigating the crash. He was dying from cancer when he was doing his investigation. He did make recommendations to improve safety and reduce costs.

Feynman devoted the latter half of his book What Do You Care What Other People Think? to his experience on the Rogers Commission, straying from his usual convention of brief, light-hearted anecdotes to deliver an extended and sober narrative. Feynman's account reveals a disconnect between NASA's engineers and executives that was far more striking than he expected. His interviews of NASA's high-ranking managers revealed startling misunderstandings of elementary concepts. For instance, NASA managers claimed that there was a 1 in 100,000 chance of a catastrophic failure aboard the shuttle, but Feynman discovered that NASA's own engineers estimated the chance of a catastrophe at closer to 1 in 200. He concluded that the space shuttle reliability estimate by NASA management was fantastically unrealistic, and he was particularly angered that NASA used these figures to recruit Christa McAuliffe into the Teacher-in-Space program. He warned in his appendix to the commission's report (which was included only after he threatened not to sign the report), "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."[52]

[sanjaykumar]

I realise that, in hindsight it is trivial that the orbiter should have been situated forward of the liquid fuel tank, or at least the vulnerable thermal tiled section of it. A 1 in 100,000 chance of catastrophic failure can only be meant for Washington's well regarded. It is not even worthy of disbelief.

[srin]

the shuttle was far more capable than the soyuz. However, after every launch the shuttle and its engines had to be completely reworked. It required a huge workforce. this was due the political spoils system that produced it from the various NASA space centers that supported it.

the shuttle had two deadly flaws.

1. There was no launch escape system. Once lift off commenced the astronauts were committed, dead or alive. No way out but success.

2. The shuttle rode on the side of the rocket stack instead of the top of the stack thus exposing the shuttle to debris strikes and shuttle booster failures.

Having said that, the shuttle was a magnificent machine, certainly the most complicated and capable ever launched.

I am more than willing to bet that India will not make the same two mistakes that I listed above.

Yes, two critical safety flaws. But my point was more from a financial viewpoint - I'm questioning the fundamental assumption that a reusable launch vehicle would be cheaper - would our reusable launch vehicle (an unmanned even) turn out to be more expensive than the PSLV on kg-to-LEO costs ?

The launch is a violent phenomenon, the vibrations and the g-forces would take a toll on the innards. The re-entry is worse. And as you mention, they'd have to run all fatigue and other tests and integrate the full stack before the next launch, over and over again. Not sure where the price saving would come from.

[srin]

Here is one pretty informative article ...
http://idlewords.com/2005/08/a_rocket_to_nowhere.htm

Why was such a powerful rocket used only to reach very low orbits, where air resistance and debris would limit the useful lifetime of a satellite to a few years? Why was there both a big cargo bay and a big crew compartment? What kind of missions would require people to assist in deploying a large payload? Why was the Shuttle intentionally crippled so that it could not land on autopilot? Why go through all the trouble to give the Shuttle large wings if it has no jet engines and the glide characteristics of a brick? Why build such complex, adjustable main engines and then rely on the equivalent of two giant firecrackers to provide most of the takeoff thrust? Why use a glass thermal protection system, rather than a low-tech ablative shield? And having chosen such a fragile method of heat protection, why on earth mount the orbiter on the side of the rocket, where things will fall on it during launch?

[member_28108]

The Reusable orbiter program is being done to study reentry charecterestics, landing and reuse characteristics as a part of a reusable two stage to orbit.It need not necessarily be manned and there are a lot of military applications that can benefit from it.Also hypersonic reentry is to be finally also amalgamated with scramjet testing.

[ramana]

Here is one pretty informative article ...
http://idlewords.com/2005/08/a_rocket_to_nowhere.htm

Why was such a powerful rocket used only to reach very low orbits, where air resistance and debris would limit the useful lifetime of a satellite to a few years? Why was there both a big cargo bay and a big crew compartment? What kind of missions would require people to assist in deploying a large payload? Why was the Shuttle intentionally crippled so that it could not land on autopilot? Why go through all the trouble to give the Shuttle large wings if it has no jet engines and the glide characteristics of a brick? Why build such complex, adjustable main engines and then rely on the equivalent of two giant firecrackers to provide most of the takeoff thrust? Why use a glass thermal protection system, rather than a low-tech ablative shield? And having chosen such a fragile method of heat protection, why on earth mount the orbiter on the side of the rocket, where things will fall on it during launch?

2 words: Military mission.

[Bade]

Without the shuttle the Hubble Telescope would have been a useless blind payload in low orbit. The biggest spin-off perhaps being able to access the Hubble in subsequent shuttle flights. Many more payloads were tested in shuttle low-earth orbit before being used in stand-alone satellites. A very nice test-bed for new ideas if you will.

[member_28108]

http://www.iist.ac.in/sites/default/fil ... E-2015.pdf

http://www.iist.ac.in/admissions/undergraduate

[Vipul]

New ISRO satellite will revolutionise Internet in India.

An entertainment-cum-internet revolution is on the anvil in India. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is building a massive 4000-kilogram communication satellite at it’s Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC), that will eliminate the use of cable wires, and connect televisions in Indian homes through a high-speed wireless service.

The under-construction GSAT-11 satellite will also integrate the internet and entertainment like never before. “We are building a communication satellite that will be equivalent to 150 transponders and will transmit data at 10 gigabytes per second. This satellite will bring about a societal transformation in the way we entertain ourselves at home,” said Tapan Misra, director, SAC, a crucial arm of ISRO, that has been behind the success of projects like Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions.

“This will be a technology that will eliminate cables and will be ideal for smart cities that are being planned in the country,” he added. In 2009, Government of India had approved the development of GSAT-11, which is touted to be one of the largest Indian communication satellite. GSAT-11 has a mission life of about 15 years.

“It will be a four-tonne satellite. We are very proud of this project at SAC. The GSAT-11 will not only link all the towns and villages in this country with quality high-speed Wi-Fi service, it will also integrate internet and television services. It will not only revolutionise entertainment, it will also provide a quantum jump to the entertainment industry,” said Misra about the Internet-TV boom that is waiting to happen in the country in the near future.

The geostationary communications satellite which has four antennas, each with a diameter of 2.8 meters is currently undergoing flight modelling at SAC. “We plan to launch this satellite by the middle of next year. Once this satellite is in space, one can watch entertainment channels or surf the internet on their televisions. In fact it can be used for all kinds of data transmission.”

According to the ISRO scientist who is also known as the “Radar Man” for his work on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), this under-construction satellite will transmit data to “local Wi-fi towers”, which in turn will beam the signals to a “dongle-type” of instruments, connected to the television.

Meanwhile, SAC which is a part of the NISAR (NASA-ISRO SAR) mission – a joint project between NASA and ISRO – has completed the baseline design review of the payload that will help study the hazards and global environmental change.

“This Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has two major parts: the L-band and the S-band. While NASA will provide the L-band, we at SAC is building the S-band. This mission will bring in a paradigm shift in the remote sensing. It will be able to observe and measure even one millimeter of surface deformation on the earth’s crust occurring due to earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, ice-sheet collapses, movement of glaciers, and others,” Misra remarked about the mission which is expected to be launched in 2020.

[Vipul]

ISRO building cyclone-predicting mini-satellite at SAC.

In order to predict the genesis of cyclones in the oceans, the Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC) — an arm of ISRO — is developing a new, miniature weather-forecasting satellite — ScatSat — at the cost of an estimated Rs 300 crore.

Once launched at the end of this year, this satellite is expected to take over some of the functions of OCEANSAT-2, a satellite that had accurately predicted the landfall of cyclone Phailin on the Orissa coast in October 2013. This prediction had helped in timely evacuation and minimise human casualties.

“The scatterometer on OCEANSAT-2 that had provided accurate data about the landfall of Phailin cyclone has become dysfunctional since February 2014. We are now rapidly building a new scatterometer that will be able to predict cyclogenesis or the formation and strengthening of possible cyclones. This can be done by keeping a watch on the formation of the vortex of air over oceans,” said Tapan Misra, director, SAC.

The scatterometer on OCEANSAT-2 was launched in 2009 and became dysfunctional in about four-and-a-half years. Currently, India is depending on the NASA’s ISS-RapidScat to monitor ocean winds and cyclones.

“This ScatSat satellite will measure the wind speed and it’s direction over the ocean. It can predict the formation of cyclones, about 4-5 days in advance. This time period is very crucial in saving lives,” he said about the satellite that will carry a payload of about 110 kilograms.A team of 300 scientists at SAC are currently working on this satellite which is expected to be ready to be shipped for launch within a couple of months. “This satellite will cost about Rs 250-300 crore and will have a life of about five years,” he added.

The data generated by this mini-satellite will be used by NASA, EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

[SwamyG]

http://www.microfinancemonitor.com/2015 ... ace-power/

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission Mangalyaan has made the world sit up and take congnisance of other space majors and China too has taken note of the accomplishment by mentioning it in its annual report released recently.
The report by the Beijing Institute of Space Science and Technology said the US, Europe, Russia, China, Japan and India are the leading powers in space, adding that India has become the first Asian country to successfully send a mission to Mars in 2014, a feat that China failed to achieve despite its attempts earlier.

[member_28108]

I thought that satellite based internet has one main issue - time lag ie latency that makes easy intenet implementation difficult isn't it ?

[pankajs]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/ban ... 257994.ece
GPS top-up GAGAN is up and ready

On May 19, GAGAN, the Rs. 774-crore Indian ‘augmentation’ to GPS, beamed its first signals and became fully ready for use.

India becomes the first country to offer satellite-based fine-tuning of GPS in the challenging equatorial region of severe ionospheric variations. GAGAN is built over the US military's location-telling Global Positioning System. It reached fruition on April 21 when it was certified for APV1 — or precision vertical guidance for planes to land safely — according to its co-creator, the Indian Space Research Organisation. An earlier RMV 0.6 certification for en route navigation came in 2013.

Airports Authority of India and ISRO initiated GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation over a decade ago to smoothen air traffic in the country.

Officials associated with it say that when airlines fit a GAGAN receiver on planes and use it, fliers can expect shorter air routes and travel time; fuel and other savings for airlines; while airports can cut congestion and manage air traffic better. Its non-aviation spinoffs, too, are said to be enormous.

[Shubham]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/ban ... 257994.ece
GPS top-up GAGAN is up and ready

On May 19, GAGAN, the Rs. 774-crore Indian ‘augmentation’ to GPS, beamed its first signals and became fully ready for use.

India becomes the first country to offer satellite-based fine-tuning of GPS in the challenging equatorial region of severe ionospheric variations. GAGAN is built over the US military's location-telling Global Positioning System. It reached fruition on April 21 when it was certified for APV1 — or precision vertical guidance for planes to land safely — according to its co-creator, the Indian Space Research Organisation. An earlier RMV 0.6 certification for en route navigation came in 2013.

Airports Authority of India and ISRO initiated GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation over a decade ago to smoothen air traffic in the country.

Officials associated with it say that when airlines fit a GAGAN receiver on planes and use it, fliers can expect shorter air routes and travel time; fuel and other savings for airlines; while airports can cut congestion and manage air traffic better. Its non-aviation spinoffs, too, are said to be enormous.

As mentioned GAGAN signal has been available since Jan 14. I had been able to receive signal from GAGAN satellites which appears as satellite number 40 & 41. The GPS also recognizes them as WAAS compatible and in some conditions I have seen position accuracy improve by factor of 3 or 4.

"As in Europe and the US, it would take a long time to fit Airbus and Boeing planes with the Indian receivers, the official said."

In my view any GPS receiver which has the feature of WAAS/EGNOS etc are compatible with GAGAN signal. Not sure why there is any need for an Indian receivers or any GAGAN receiver?

[SSridhar]

ISRO mulls tie-up with industrial partners - Madhumitha D.S., The Hindu

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to magnify the role of its industry partners by starting joint ventures with them and readying them to do entire tasks like satellite launches, its Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar has said.

The agency has sounded out its commercial arm, Antrix Corporation, to explore such opportunities for specific projects. Internal teams are being formed to draft a plan, he told The Hindu in a recent interview.

For one, Antrix might form ventures with public or private entities that had already been supplying for the space programme. The extent of financing and equity would be decided later. “We hope to have a clear picture in about a year. We have asked Antrix to identify industries and requirements and have initiated discussions internally,” said Mr. Kiran Kumar, who is also Secretary of the Department of Space.

Backlog

One reason is the backlog of communication satellites that urgently need indigenous GSLV launchers to put them in space. In mid-May, the government sanctioned 15 smaller PSLV launchers, worth Rs. 3,090 crore, which would be built during 2017-20. The ISRO now plans to do two GSLV launches, one commercial and two to three PSLV launches in a year, all requiring intensive engagement with the industry.

Furthermore, if the industry took on bigger roles, Mr. Kiran Kumar said, the ISRO could focus on developing superior technologies for next-generation satellites and launch vehicles.

Already, about 80 per cent of the stages and systems of the PSLV and the GSLV are being made by Godrej, L&T, MTAR, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited or Bharat Electronics. The ISRO centres assembled them.

The ISRO would like industries to do the entire chain all the way up to the launch. It may straightaway rope in a reliable partner to work with it through the whole launcher process and ready it for the task in a couple of years — as it is being done in the West.

For instance, HAL’s Aerospace Division is now making liquid rocket engines. The ISRO wants it to make the GSLV’s GS2 stage and the PSLV’s PS4 stage and then do all the stages. HAL is also partner for the GSLV cryogenic engine.

“The best thing to do is to completely transfer [launches] to industry; we just provide the launch pad. It would be wonderful if we can reach that stage,” Mr. Kiran Kumar said.

[SSridhar]

ISRO Gears up for 6 Major Missions This Year - New Indian Express

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has six major missions lined up for the rest of 2015, including the keenly awaited Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) mission toward the middle of the year.

First comes the PSLV C-28 mission bearing three UK satellites. The launch date has been fixed tentatively for July 10.

The RLV-TD mission, the first flight test of an unmanned, scale model of India’s own space shuttle, is second in the list. It will lift off from Sriharikota by the end of July or the beginning of August, M Chandradathan, who stepped down as director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba, told reporters here on Friday.

“The space plane part of the RLV-TD is almost ready. The thermal protection tiles, needed for withstanding the intense heat during re-entry, are being fixed atop it, and this will be completed in a month,” he said.

The space plane will be rigged on top of a small booster rocket, and from a height of 70 km, the space plane will descend to earth. Since there is no runway at Sriharikota spaceport yet, it will come down in the Bay of Bengal. The PSLV C-30 mission will follow with the Astrosat satellite, which is essentially a space-based observatory.

This mission will be followed by the GSLV D-6 mission, which will be a ditto version of the GSLV D-5 which successfully flight-tested the India-built cryogenic engine in December 2014.

“This mission will be in August and will validate the cryo stage. The cryo stage is being integrated at the IPRC, Mahendragiri,” S Somanath, the new director of LPSC, said. The remaining two missions are PSLV-based, intended to put two more satellites in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) in orbit.

“The PSLV C-29 and the PSLV C-31 will carry one IRNSS satellite each, hopefully by the end of 2015. We hope to have two of the three remaining IRNSS satellites in orbit this year,” he said.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System constellation consists of seven satellites and four are already in orbit.

‘Project Report for Airstrip Ready’

With the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) fast-tracking the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) project to build India’s own space shuttle, the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh will get an airstrip in the near future. “The project report for constructing the strip at Sriharikota is ready,” M Chandradathan, who stepped down as director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, on Friday said. ‘’It will have to be at least 4 km in length. The project report for the airstrip was ready by 2010-11 itself. We have enough land at Sriharikota for building it,’’ he said. Unlike GSLV and PSLV, which are expendable rockets, the RLV consists of a space plane section and a booster rocket. The space plane returns to earth after the mission and can be reused.

[member_23694]

apart from all the launches, the viewers of the future launch will have to adapt to the people seating in front of the
consoles.
New LPSC , VSSC, SDSC directors.ISRO moving next gen in every way

[SSSalvi]

Reproducing from K. Radhakrishnan's Posting on his Linkedin profile :

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-reason ... =prof-post

" 7 Reasons why I adore ISRO "

One Vision, One Team: The guiding vision of ISRO had been and is still shared at all levels, over the generations. The organisation evolves continuously and enrich its vision and as a natural process. The lunar and planetary explorations are apt instances.

National Priority over everything else: ISRO’s determination to stay as a significant contributor and a relevant player in the national development process acts as its force multiplier. ISRO is sensitive to the actual needs of the user community that reflects in its programmatic far-sightedness.

Long term planning: ISRO has nurtured a participatory and iterative process for long-term planning. There is an “obsession”, rightly so, to be self- reliant- which also assigns due weight to Timely delivery of systems and services are prioritized.

A sublime blend of Youth and Maturity: In ISRO, the inventive power of the youth is unleashed and wisdom of elders is elicited. This is a rare blend but an immensely potential one. It is very common in ISRO to see the youngest of the engineers debating against a veteran, with pure technical judgment. ISRO owes its many successes to this great culture and the integral of contribution of five or six generations of brilliant engineers.

Constructive conflicts: ISRO encourages productive conflicts as well as constructive criticisms, from both internally and externally. The suggestions and criticisms are accepted in a positive way; taken onboard, and only then an actionable decision is worked out. But once the decision is taken, the Teams traverse through the chosen path with conviction, grit, determination and devotion without raising any doubt.

Nerves and Verves: ISRO recognises that the difference between the success and failure in any space mission is very thin. Hence, there is a high level of preparedness for any possible contingencies and emergencies coupled with harmonised effort of several hundred members of the mission team to diligently execute the sequence of operations, with attention to the minute detail.

Failures are part of the Learning Curve: ISRO exhibits resilience to reflect and revive continually taking lessons from its failures as well as successes. Most important-the leader takes responsibility for the failure (without pointing fingers on others) and when success comes, the credit is passed on to the entire team.

Comments section in the post makes a good read.

[Bade]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/ ... 840054.ece

“The project report for constructing the strip at Sriharikota is ready,” M Chandradathan, who stepped down as director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, on Friday said. ‘’It will have to be at least 4 km in length. The project report for the airstrip was ready by 2010-11 itself. We have enough land at Sriharikota for building it,’’ he said.

Unlike GSLV and PSLV, which are expendable rockets, the RLV consists of a space plane section and a booster rocket. The space plane returns to earth after the mission and can be reused.

By July-end or the beginning of August this year, ISRO will fly the RLV-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), a small model for testing the technology, from Sriharikota. The RLV-TD will come down in the Bay of Bengal as the airstrip is not ready yet.

[Gagan]

Finally...

[Kakkaji]

New directors for three major ISRO centres

Dr K Sivan to head Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre; S Somanath goes to Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre; P Kunhikrishnan to head Satish Dhawan Space Centre